A manhunt is underway in Belize City for a veteran special patrol officer already linked to a high-profile 2024 assault case, after authorities filed new aggravated assault and wounding charges connected to a recent traffic-related incident. The target of the search is 38-year-old Special Patrol Officer Lewis Pascasio, who first made local headlines two years ago when he was accused of pulling a firearm on Belizean Olympian Shaun Gill during a public confrontation on Orange Street. That 2024 case remains active and is still progressing through the court system as of May 2026, according to local law enforcement updates.
Superintendent Stacy Smith, a senior staff officer with the Belize Police Department, confirmed the new charges and manhunt in a press briefing on May 25, 2026, explaining that the latest investigation stems from a complaint filed by another serving police officer. “As it relates to the inquiry pertaining to Mr. Pascasio, I spoke with one of the OCs in Eastern Division, and what he just advised me just a short while ago is that, yes, in fact, an incident occurred, and an investigation was triggered, and that investigation has resulted in charges being prepared for Mr. Pascasio in relation to aggravated assault and wounding as a consequence of a report made by a police officer,” Smith stated in the official briefing.
When pressed by reporters to confirm early unconfirmed reports that Pascasio was operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the incident, Smith declined to comment on speculation. He did, however, confirm that the entire incident was captured on closed-circuit security camera footage from a nearby gas station, where the confrontation unfolded after Pascasio allegedly ran a red light in the area. Smith noted that the recorded footage has already been reviewed by investigators and served as key evidence supporting the decision to prepare formal charges against the fugitive officer.
The development has renewed scrutiny of internal police oversight in Belize, coming as Pascasio still faces pending charges from the 2024 attack on the national Olympian. Local law enforcement has not yet issued a public timeline for Pascasio’s expected arrest, nor have they released additional details on the nature of the confrontation that led to the latest wounding charge. This report is adapted from a transcribed evening television newscast originally published online by local Belizean media.